Gun *& Hunting* Culture 2.0

Michael Bane

Author and Outdoor Channel producer Michael Bane is credited with identifying the new Gun Culture 2.0. In his view, the old Gun Culture was mostly rural, largely male and pretty dang much inseparable from meat hunting. It was also largely fragmented; deer hunters didn’t associate with duck hunters, nor varminters, and certainly not handgunners, but they all agreed that those sport shooters were completely nuts. With the demographic shift to the cities, the Gun Culture found itself shrinking, divided, weak and easy prey for politicians looking for scapegoats. Too often, segments of guns (handgunners, large capacity mags, etc.) were thrown to the wolves with the age-old plea of “eat me last”. 

Gun Culture 2.0 Develops: Fortunately, for all of our rights, a new firearms culture has emerged. Gun Culture 2.0 grew from the basic attraction of shooting; ranging from fun to deadly serious; from Trap to Self Defense.  The new gunners are more open to all types of firearm experiences. They’re shooting Skeet, then deciding to try IPSC, cowboying up, training for concealed carry, run and gunning and just plain having fun plinking. 

Jessie Duff (R)

Diverse: The National Shooting Sport Federation (NSSF) reports that gunners are now much younger, more urban, as well as much more diverse with a broad range of race, education, occupations, and earnings.  And they are increasingly female. Women (including my wife) are now 22% of the CCW holders in several states surveyed by USA TODAY. Gun owners now largely resemble – hell, are – America. 

Why? Because Race Gun!

Economic Impact: GC 2.0 shoots more; buys more guns, and lordy, at least tries to buy much more ammunition. (On a cowboy weekend, I’ll shoot more ammo than a real cowboy would have shot in three lifetimes.)  We also purchase all sorts of gun chotskies (shotskies?) Gunnies now swing a heavy checkbook. In 2013, the NSSF reported that the firearm and ammunition industry’s economic impact was nearly $38 Billion in the United States alone. Most every locale would like a share of that pie. Gun friendly states are welcoming firearm firms when politics (and out-of-state money) make their current locations untenable. Those politicians are now facing the ire of their citizens as good paying manufacturing jobs flee over their border. 

Unified: Forged under the hammer of our sworn enemies, today’s gun culture is an effective, aggressive, unified defender of our firearm rights. Where the old fragmented gun culture gave in and compromised (read: threw a right under the bus) when attacked, Gun Culture 2.0 recognized that an attack on one – was, in fact, an attack on all -- and just one more step toward the goal of universal civilian disarmament. Unity prevailed in the firestorm following the Sandy Hook tragedy. In the face of an overwhelming political and media assault, GC 2.0 stood firm and denied national anti-gunners their legislation. I for one, reveled in the sweet, sweet, crocodile tears of Harry Reid as his anti-rights coalition collapse around his ears.  It may have been Sebastian, of the blog Shall Not Be Questioned, who correctly predicted “This is not our Waterloo, it’s Their’s.”

Kendall Jones

Hunting Under Assault: Lately, our brother and sister hunters have fallen increasingly under the gun of the elites; with trophy hunters receiving special ire. Animal “rights” activists disrupt hunts, even using drones. Social media is infected with urban hipsters whose only exposure to hunting is a picture of a deer with a Bud cap, lights in the antlers and a cigarette in its mouth. Young women have been vilified for their hunting passion. The attacks have gone as far as death threats and a politician who asked for nude pics of the woman hunter in order to destroy her. Emboldened by the elite’s disdain for hunting, the Fish and Game, EPA, and BLM bureaucrats use the vice of regulations, politicians have eagerly raided the taxes and fee meant for wildlife preservation.  And the politicians are all to eager to restrict hunters anywhere they can. 

Opening the Umbrella: In his Down Range Radio Podcast #376, Michael Bane calls for expanding Gun Culture 2.0 to include Hunting. Unity is the key, as examined by our co-blooger Archer in a post: On "Othering" Allies.     

“An attack on any hunter is an attack on all hunters is an attack on all gun owners. Simple truth. Respond accordingly.” 

        Michael Bane

But it does mean, as gunnies, we have to put away our petty sneers. There can be no more Fudds, Cletti, Neckbeards or Rednecks. We are all Brothers and Sisters of the Gun.  We are all gun owners, shooters, and hunters.

Our Freedom depends on it.